“It’s beyond measure,” Bryant said. “I don’t think there’s any way to really define it. What he’s done, it’s tough to really find a match for that in any sport. He’s been a model of consistency.”

“He’s meant everything to me in my career, taking a risk on a 17-year-old kid coming out of high school and believing in me my entire career,” he said. “For the game itself, the brand of basketball, ‘Showtime’ carried the league. You think about the rivalry that took place between the Lakers and the Celtics, and what that did for the global outreach of the game.